The Wolf Side 16: The Apple and the Lights
by rokchichomesickg
Summary: Wolf tracks Virginia and Tony to the swamp on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Prince is still in the custody of the Trolls, by now the Queen. Virginia confesses something to Wolf.


Wolf awoke the next morning feeling sore and empty. He gorged himself on bacon until he felt ready to continue. His fire had gone out during the night and he was beginning to sweat again. He silently wished that the weather would make up its mind. He wore his jacket anyway, not wanting to stuff it back into the bag, which was no longer of any use to him. He had run out of food for now, except for a couple of apples. He stuffed them hastily into his pockets and discarded the bag.

He stood, squinting into the morning light, and took a deep breath. The scent was faint here, but he could smell them. Tony, Virginia, and the Prince were still together, at least. He walked a little further upstream until he came to the place where the scent was strongest. Luckily the river was shallow enough to cross here. He frowned, looking around him. _Where are they going?_

Assuming that they had come this way to talk to the Dwarves of Dragon Mountain, why did they need to cross the river, unless they were being chased? The question was . . . by whom – the Trolls or the Dwarves? Wolf couldn't smell the Trolls here, so he put the pieces together. This had "Tony" written all over it. What had he done _now_? Wolf's frown deepened. Why had they come here in the first place? The mirror. _Of course! The Dwarves are famous for making magic mirrors!_ How had they known? Prince must have told them. _So where did they go? And why?_ Wolf crossed the river as quickly as he could. Only parts of his theory made sense. One thing was certain. . . the Dwarves hadn't been able to send them home. Had Virginia been able to learn about the other traveling mirrors? She would find one if she had. He followed their trail into the woods. The air smelled clean and open here, unlike the Disenchanted Forest. He looked up in alarm. He was in the Fourth Kingdom, not too far from the castle. They were headed straight toward the Queen.

For a moment he was seized with panic. Wolf suddenly understood. The Queen had one of the traveling mirrors, and Virginia was on her way to take it. _Bad! Very bad!_ He began to pace back and forth.

_What do I do_, he thought. _Virginia can't go up against the Queen. Taking her mirror is the biggest mistake of all!_

"The Queen will kill her," he mumbled to himself. He scratched his temple in agitation.

_Isn't that what she's planning to do anyway? _You_ are going to deliver to Virginia to her. Does that make you any better?_

"Of course not," Wolf scolded. Suddenly he was filled with the clarity of an idea.

_Serve the Queen. Do what she says, but don't harm Virginia, no matter what._ _I will save her, and she will go home. She will be happy and safe. _

He chuckled nervously to himself, smoothing his hair back. He must be calm and collected. One wrong move and the Queen would suspect. His thoughts were so jumbled, he couldn't even sort out whom he was betraying.

_Don't think about it_, he told himself as he began walking. He caught Virginia's scent mixed with Trolls and another familiar scent – _the Huntsman_. He began to run. Her scent got stronger as he pushed forward. He had run for at least a mile until he got to a crossroads. One way was nine miles to the castle, the other was thirteen. The shortcut was through an enchanted swamp, while the long way looked more like a pleasant road through the woods. He stopped to breathe deeply. Virginia and Tony's scents were pulling strongly to the left while the Trolls' scent moved to the right. Had they escaped? It wouldn't be too difficult; Trolls are very stupid. He frowned when he realized Prince's scent wasn't among them. Wolf groaned inwardly. Of course she would take the shortcut. If he knew Virginia, she was probably trying to rescue Prince from the Trolls. They were going to the castle for Prince, not the mirror! Still, the swamp was a dangerous place.

_Virginia, how do you expect to get out of here without me_, he growled. He had heard rumors about the swamp.

The Evil Queen of the Snow White story had been forced to wear the iron shoes of the Trolls, to dance at Snow White's wedding. Afterward, she had dragged herself to this swamp to heal her blistered feet and plot her revenge. Wolf squared his shoulders.

_Just because no one has seen or heard of the Evil Queen since then, that doesn't mean she's still in the swamp. _He marched forward confidently, following his nose. It was difficult to track her through the stagnant water smell. It reeked of fungi and mold, and the air was so close and humid it was difficult to track anything. It took all of his concentration to pinpoint Virginia's scent. He could no longer smell Tony with her at one point. That worried him a little, but he continued to follow Virginia's scent. If he knew her at all, she would find her father somehow.

He ran across Tony and Virginia's scents together. Finally their scents seemed to converge. He walked for another quarter of a mile until he got to the place where their scents were strongest. Wolf almost didn't spot them in time. Virginia and Tony were sleeping atop Mushroom Island, and vines were slowly creeping around them, threatening to choke out their lives.

In that moment, Wolf made his decision. He knew he couldn't live in a world where Virginia didn't exist. He ran to her side as fast as he possibly could. His feet barely touched the ground before he pushed off again, but he felt as if he were running in molasses. Finally he reached her side, breaking her free of the vines. She shot upright, choking and clutching her neck.

"Oh, I never should have eaten the apple," she exclaimed. Wolf didn't bother trying to figure out what that meant. He rushed over to help Tony. He was almost covered from head to foot in the vines. Wolf suspected that he had fallen asleep before Virginia. Tony sat upright as well, sputtering.

"Lights! All the lights are out!" Wolf looked around briefly. He could smell eggs and mushrooms. There was evidence of a small fire and a dirty frying pan. He rolled his eyes. _They ate the magic mushrooms_. Wolf rushed back to Virginia's side.

"I almost died back there," said Tony, gasping. Virginia seemed confused and panicked, but she threw herself into Wolf's arms. His relief was extraordinary. He had almost lost her forever.

"How did you find us," she gasped.

"Virginia," he whispered. "I've been following you for a long time." Virginia broke her hold on him and grasped his shoulders as if checking to make sure he was real. He stroked her face, trying to calm her. Something had happened, he could see it in her eyes. . . something more than almost being choked to death by plants, but before he could ask she pulled him into another embrace. She seemed relieved that Wolf had found her. He looked into her eyes again and he knew. . . she had forgiven him. She was even glad that he was with her. Tony sat in silence at this time. Wolf silently thanked him. Tony wasn't altogether clueless.

"We should go," said Wolf quietly. Virginia nodded, not taking her eyes from his face. He held her gaze for a moment then looked away. He was once again conflicted. What would she think about his dealings with the Queen? He would have to do whatever necessary from this point to get Virginia home safely.

"Where did you go? After you left Kissing Town," asked Virginia as they walked. Tony walked ahead, trying not to listen, Wolf hoped.

"Kissing Town? I went off for a while, to think about things," he told her, which wasn't altogether untrue. He'd done his thinking in the hotel room, he supposed. "I picked up your trail a few days ago."

"How? We went through a mountain." Wolf absentmindedly grabbed her hand and held it.

"Virginia. . . I could follow your scent across time itself." He continued walking, her delicate hand warm in his. Virginia pulled on his arm slightly. He stopped and turned to face her.

"You seem different," she told him. He held her gaze unreservedly and took a deep breath. He could feel it, too. He suddenly felt more confident. No, he felt more like a _man_ than he ever had when he was trying to impress her. How did that happen? He also noticed that Virginia seemed stronger, more relaxed than usual. For once he felt relaxed.

"We're both different," he replied. Virginia nodded. He turned to keep walking again, but Virginia pulled him back to her. His brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, but he accepted her attention. There was something in her eyes. . . Virginia giggled nervously.

"I didn't mean to chase you away," she admitted. Was that it? "Everything was just happening so quickly, you know, and . . ." she brought her hand up to stroke his cheek, "I really _do_ like you." Wolf said nothing, but his heart was speaking for him. He brought his hand up to hers, hoping for more.

"Wha–" Wolf whispered.

"I like you a lot. I never – I never want to hurt you." Virginia giggled nervously again. "I think I love you." She looked down at her feet shyly and slowly met his gaze.

Had Virginia just admitted she loved him? His heart was threatening to explode from his chest. He had no words. Wolf could only stand there and grin down at her. His mind was filled with such clarity, and his heart was swollen with love. He could feel fireworks going off in his stomach. The only response he had was a small gasp of air and a disbelieving smile. _How?_ He didn't care. Virginia had said she loved him! He took her hand and silently led her down the path after her father. He would do something about the romance after the swamp. It was too dangerous in this place. Wolf certainly didn't want to have to wait. Virginia _finally_ trusted him, and he was going to have to betray _someone_. He decided the best way to keep her safe was to play the part. He would have to rely on his wolf instincts for this one.


End file.
